This invention relates generally to tree protectors and particularly to a tree protector which provides a built-in watering system.
Devices intended to protect the trunks of young trees, in particular, from vermin and other pests are not in themselves new. Early devices of this kind are known, which are formed from clay pipe half sections which are either not held together at all or are held together by a metal band. None of these known devices includes any watering system.
Later devices have utilized metal or plastic mesh cylinders. Devices of this kind suffer from the general disadvantage of being insufficiently rigid, relatively accessible to small animals and difficult to work around with lawn mowers. One such device is formed from a one-piece cylindrical extrusion and can therefore only be used with seedlings or small trees having virtually no spread. This particular device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,959 does provide a watering stake. However, the stake is bonded to the mesh cylinder and suffers from the additional disadvantage of having a hold-down capability which is limited to the diameter of the mesh cylinder. In addition other disadvantages of this device are that watering access to the stake is limited and the driving of the stake is conditioned by the attachment to the mesh.
The present tree protector overcomes the disadvantages discussed above in a manner not disclosed in the known prior art.